The Federal Coalition has joined an unusual alliance with the Greens and independent Senator Nick Xenophon to support legislation making it mandatory for palm oil to be labelled in all Australian foods.

Currently palm oil is labelled as vegetable oil, but a campaign by conservationists says consumers have the right to know whether foods contain the oil.

Large tracts of forests in Malaysia and Indonesia are cleared to make way for palm oil plantations, destroying the habitat of the critically endangered orangutan in the process.

The legislation will be debated in the Senate tomorrow and is now assured success in the Upper House with the Coalition agreeing to demand palm oil be identified as an ingredient in food.

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert says it is not possible for consumers to avoid palm oil because there is no way of knowing they are eating it.

"The bulk of people looking at this issue are probably more focused on orangutans, but there are certainly people that are concerned about some of the health aspects as well," she said.

Senator Xenophon says Australians consume 10 kilograms of palm oil a year and do not know it.

He says while other vegetable oils contain as little as 2 per cent saturated fat, palm oil is 50 per cent saturated fat and consumers are demanding better labelling.

Zoos Victoria spokeswoman Rachel Lowry says a lot of people are becoming informed about the palm oil issue.

"And we don't want to leave people feeling as though it's all just too hard and it's impossible and they can't do anything about it," she said.

Ms Lowry says the production of palm oil is essentially destroying the habitat and homes of orangutan species.

"We have in horrifying footage, images coming through to us almost daily here at Zoos Victoria," she said.

"We have staff that go across to Indonesia for skill share programs that are bringing back reports of orangutans being displaced, being killed, essentially returning to burning fields or fields that have been cleared [to] put palm oil crops in."

Ms Lowry says the United Nations has warned there is only one to two decades left to save this particular species.

"[Palm oil] is the world's most popular oil, which is why boycotting it is ridiculous, but we need to move to an actual sustainable production of palm oil, we can't just move off it completely," she said.

"But if palm oil cultivation continues to go at the rampant rate it's at we will lose the orangutan.

"And it will happen in our lifetime. It's a very real issue."

Empowering

Both Senator Siewert and Ms Lowry believe empowering consumers will have an effect.

"There are lots of aware customers out there who do stop buying or change their buying habit," Ms Siewert said.

"People are becoming aware of the fact that if they make a stance by not buying products with palm oil that will then force the manufacturers to start ensuring that palm oil is produced in a sustainable manner."

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